Reports coming from Orissa tell us of police and goons of the state government attacking a non-violent demostration against POSCO takeover with bombs and further intimidation of the demosntrators.

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State turning Posco agitation area into another Nandigram

On 25^th November 2007, armed supporters of pro-POSCO local MLA and ex-minister Damodar Rout (from ruling party) launched an attack on the procession of villagers opposing the POSCO project in Jagatsinghpur. The procession was passing by the Mahaveer Peetha at Nuagan on their way to Nolia Sahi to reconstruct a check which  Rout's men had smashed on 23rd November .

The similarity between Nandigram situation and the POSCO situation is stark and so are the tactics being increasingly used by the Orissa Government and the ruling party. The anti-posco protestors who don't want to be displaced have closed off the area to the administration and POSCO for many months, using check gates and vigilance of the local people. The administration and the company officials have been trying to enter the agitation area on different pretexts. Failing to do so, now they are hiring local mafia as private army to break the will of the anti-POSCO agitators.

On 21 ^st November, a group of employees of the Hyderabad based Dharitri Company attempted a PUJA to start the dredging work of river Jatadhari claiming that it was a contract job of the oil refinery in Paradeep. The agitating villagers who have been fooled by such groups many a times in the past refused to believe them. They requested the employees not to do so and to honorably leave the place. But, the chief of the local Mahaveer Peetha (a place owned by fundamentalist Hindu groups) who was supposed to perform the Puja entered into a verbal duel with the agitators which ultimately resulted in a conflict causing injuries to a few people from both sides. This chief who is known as Raju Baba and also known as a person controlling a few musclemen in the area has become a close associate of ruling party MLA Mr.Rout. Taking a procession  of his followers on 23^{rd Nov.} he broke the check gate constructed by the protesting villagers to prevent the entry of POSCO officials, police and administration.

The agitating villagers decided to reconstruct the gate. They convened a meeting at Balitutha to discuss the new threats to their movement from the religious head with organized muscle power who has been engaged by POSCO and Rout with the active support of the administration. At 2 pm a procession of anti-posco villagers marched towards Nolia Sahi to repair the check gate. This procession was attacked Mahaveer Peetha by an armed gang under the leadership of Raju baba. Two leaders of the anti- POSCO agitation have been critically injured and shifted to SCB medical college hospital while 6 more have been admitted in to the local hospital at Balitutha. The critically injured include two important leaders of the movement Prafulla Biswal and Champa Nayak (an elderly women leader). When the last report reached us around 12 midnight more than 2000 anti- POSCO villagers had gathered together at Balitutha to discuss the crisis which they has been deliberately promoted by the state to create grounds for entry of armed police or BJD/BJP party cadre to destabilize the movement.

( Report received from Abhay Sahu, Ptambar Das, Prashant Paikray and others as on 12.30 midnight 25^th/26^th November 2007).

The brutal assault launched on the anti-posco agitators by a religious head with support from local MLA, administration and the company has   been condemned by political and social activists such as Radhkant Sethi, Gananath Patra, Rajendra Sarangi, Bhalachandra, Lingaraj and Prafulla Samantara. They have accused the state of hatching a conspiracy to create a Nandigram type situation in the area. According to them, the state is taking the help of discredited politicians and religious leaders with Mafia character to divide the agitation and capture the area for POSCO. They have also appealed to the peaceful and determined agitators not to get provoked by the tactics used by the administration and POSCO.

1.      The State is desperate to start the POSCO project work by April 2008. Though the killing of 14 tribals in Kalinganagar worked as a check on their aggressive agenda for industrialization for sometime, the recent developments in Nandigram has encouraged them again. They have realized by now that they can't use state force directly. But they can use private armies in the name of project supporters and get the work done without inviting the displeasure of human rights body and rival political forces. Through such interventions they can also create a situation for entry of police /para military force to support the private army/party army.

2.      The anti-posco agitation may face more repression in the coming days. The uncompromising position that the anti-Posco agitators have taken up is not allowing the administration and POSCO to influence the leadership financially. Force – private or state remains the only option, since they refuse to recognize the genuine questions/concerns raised by the people about their livelihood security. The Anti-POSCO agitators have started a 24 hours watch process at Balitutha since 11 ^th November with 500 people guarding the entry point's day and night. They have started a community kitchen and have also appealed people outside the area to support it. They have taken it as a last battle to protect their land and livelihood.

3.      The overall atmosphere of the state is turning against corporations after the Kalinganagar and Hirakud incidence. In such a situation the industrial-mining mafia controlling the State administration would not like to give an impression that the state is inefficient or weak.

4.       The political opposition  by political parties to the anti-people measures of the state is almost missing which gives the ruling alliance a free hand to deal with the people's movements. Barring a few exception we find the media in Orissa to be corporate and state friendly and necessarily anti people.

5. This incidence is the latest in a series of deliberate provocations being taken up by the state administration and the POSCO to create a situation of violence which would allow them to send in Police and para-military force and break the anti-POSCO movement. This will result in bloodshed as in Nandigram as the anti-POSCO villagers have decided to do or die to save their lands and livelihoods.

Nov 29^th, 2007. Although the use of force was anticipated, the obnoxious methods of the state to curb people's movements have gone beyond imagination this time. The peaceful protest at Balitutha (Jagatsingpur, Orissa) by PPSS (POSCO Pratirodh Sangram Samiti) was today attacked by 1000 POSCO goons with full support from the state.

Earlier today, the PPSS had already lifted the blockade at Balitutha Bridge , after they got the assurance that Noliasahi villagers would be freed from hostage by BJD goons. Later, 15 members of the pro-POSCO gang came and told the agitators that 'simply lifting the blockade would not do', and warned them of dire consequences if the camp and the community kitchen were also not lifted. The leaders declined to do so since it would mean death of the movement and a compromise with people's rights.

Then about 1000 pro-POSCO goons – functioning under the leadership of ex-Minister and BJD MLA Damodar Rout – came heavily armed, threw about 6 bombs at the agitators, and torched the tent which sheltered the agitators for the past 50 days at Balitutha Bridge. The attack on the peaceful protesters continued for quite some time. Eight of the agitators were injured and the brother of Sisir Mahaparta, secy of PPSS, who too was badly injured, was taken hostage by the POSCO supporters.

While bombing and torching, they demanded for the company and other officials to be allowed free passage to commence the construction work. As part of a well-planned strategy of the state government and district administration, the miscreants are still camping in the area and threatening all those who oppose POSCO. It has already been established that there is a nefarious nexus between the state government, the company, contractors, and other vested groups to crush the movement of the people who are rightfully fighting for their land and livelihoods.

The role played by the media has only strengthened criminals and anti-people elements, which ultimately helps the corporations desperate to grab people's resources. The ruthlessness in which the state government is thrusting its corporate agenda on innocent people is well-known by now, whereas it has got parties in opposition who are no less than the ruling party in their worldview. On the other hand, an insensitive, corporate-friendly bureaucracy does not bother about any thing other than ensuring smooth implementation of the dubious MoUs signed with the companies, even at the cost of people's lives and livelihoods.

Just received from Balitutha ( 12:10 a.m. ): Just 2 hours before the police entered Balitutha where the POSCO goons bombed the activists of PPSS. The IG and SP visited at the same time and four platoons of police force been deployed. Another 10 platoon will soon join tomorrow. Meanwhile the goons are preparing to attack Dhinkia and Gobindapur in Dhinkia GP—the strongest base of the PPSS. There is lot of tension in the area. The administration and police are playing hand in gloves by allowing the goons of POSCO to attack systematically in order to silence the PPSS activists. The PPSS has planned a rally tomorrow from Dhinia to Balitutha. But it seems difficult as most of the villagers are framed in many criminal cases. Activists are told that on 23rd Nov. on the occasion of Kartik purnima the CM, MLA Damodar Rout and the DC were in a close-door discussion at Paradeep. It is anticipated that the plan was made to how the onslaught would follow. Meanwhile, the number of injured PPSS activists has gone up to 12." —Prasant Paikray and Nikunj Bhutia

It is time to bring together all our strength in extending our solidarity to the movement led by PPSS against POSCO before a state-managed anarchy takes over full-fledged.

1. Please write to the Chief Minister and the Governor of Orissa to intervene and take immediate action against the goons of POSCO, scrap the project, and prevent any kind of repression sponsored either by the state or corporations.

2. Please write to the Prime Minister of India whose office is taking extra interest in mobilizing all administrative support for the project.

3. Please write to NHRC and all human rights organizations to condemn the heinous action of the POSCO goons and pressurize the government to take action against the guilty, including the company and the administration.

Fax numbers Naveen Patnaik, chief minister, Orissa: 0674–2535100

Murlidhar Chandrakant Bhandare, Governor, Orissa: 0674–2536582

Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister: 011–23019545 / 23016857

Mamata Dash, Subrat Kumar Sahu, Vijayan MJ and Sridevi Panikkar - Delhi Solidarity Group Posted by collective at December 02, 2007 09:35 PM